


Pollux

by breepers_creepers



Series: Asterism [8]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Lodestar AU, Therapy Session
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:55:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22060675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breepers_creepers/pseuds/breepers_creepers
Summary: Dash goes to therapy.
Series: Asterism [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1586794
Comments: 1
Kudos: 29





	Pollux

"Well, Mr. Baxter, would you like to get started?"

Dash shrugged. "Not particularly." He _really_ didn't want to be here, but Kwan had insisted.

"Come on, man, just once," he'd plead. "You're scaring us."

So now Dash was here, at the Amity Mental Health Center, talking to a stranger about things he didn't want to talk about.

"Alright," the shrink said. "Let's start with _why_ you're here, then."

Dash hesitated. He hadn't talked to anyone about what had been going through his head. Surely it couldn't hurt though. This lady was trained to help, right? "I... recently saw someone die. And it was my fault."

The lady wrote something on her notepad. "How was it your fault?"

"I was chasing him. I don't remember why, just that I was really angry, and... he ran into the road. And he got hit by a car. And then another car. And I just stood there, I didn't try to help or anything."

"I see." The lady hummed and wrote something else down. It was quiet for a long, uncomfortable moment.

"What's your name?" Dash asked, unsure what else to say.

"Samantha."

Dash felt his heart skip a beat, suddenly visualizing furious purple eyes. He had been so caught up in his own misery, he hadn't thought of how Danny's friends must feel. It had been _weeks,_ and this was the first time he was thinking of them?

"Are you okay?"

Dash looked up. Samantha was staring at him. He realized that he was hyperventilating, and forced himself to breathe slower. "I just... One of his best friends' name is Sam."

"Have you spoken to her?"

"No, she hates me. Probably even more, now."

Samantha hummed again. "I'll be honest with you, Dash. It's not going to be easy going forward. She's probably not the only person who's upset with you. Do you have a support system?"

"What?"

"People to talk to, who will stand by you while you're struggling."

"Oh." Dash frowned, thinking of how his parents weren't talking to him. "Yeah, my friends have been helping me. They're actually the reason I'm here."

"Good," Samantha smiled. "How about family?"

Dash winced. He'd hoped she would overlook that. "My little sister doesn't even know what happened."

Samantha frowned and scribbled something on her notepad. "What about your parents?"

Dash hesitated. He looked down at the floor, then up at the ceiling. They were the same ugly beige. Finally, he looked Samantha in the eye and said, "They say it's my fault too."

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say.

Samantha's brow furrowed even deeper. "They said that?"

"Yeah," Dash said quietly. Samantha scowled and wrote a long note on her pad. "Alright Dash, here's what we're going to do. You have a small support system, no familial support, what sounds like some anger issues, and a very serious situation. So, we're going to focus on your friends, and work on your parents. Let's start with your friends. How can they help you?"

Dash thought. "I guess... they pushed me to come here. I know they're worried about me."

"Good, so they're already working to help you. What else have they been doing?"

"They've been talking to me, when no one else in school will. They spend as much time with me as they can, and they don't care if I don't talk. When they can't be there, they check in with me over the phone. I've told them they don't have to, but they do anyway."

"Does that bother you?"

"No, not at all!" Dash shook his head. "I actually... really appreciate it. It's nice to know they're looking out for me."

Samantha smiled. "Good. Have you talked them about how you're feeling?"

"Um. No. I don't... want them to know? I know they'll just tell me it's not my fault and to forget about it, and I don't want to hear that."

Samantha nodded. "How about we make that your goal for this week? Try talking to them about it. You never know, they might surprise you. And either way, it'll make you feel better to get it off your chest."

Dash thought. It really couldn't hurt. Either he'd be right, or pleasantly surprised. And it would make his friends feel better to hear him talk again. "Yeah, alright. I can do that."

"Great!" Samantha smiled kindly. "In that case, you can tell me about it next week!"

"Wait... next week?"

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact, I can't say Pollux in my house because it's one of my dogs' release words.


End file.
